The Portland daily press., 1887-10-15
FEMININE SKILL.
Women as Experts in the National
Treasury-Interesting Incidents of
Their Work In Government Service.
Providence Journal

providence Journal
In many branches of the Treasury service
women have risen to the proficiency of ex-
perts. This is especially true as to the Office
OF the Treasurer of the United States, where
the most expert, rapid and accurate counters
OF mutilated currency and detectors of coun-
terfelt money are women. A woman detect
ed the first couterfeit 500 bill of a very dan
gerous issue. When called upon to explain
why she thought it was counterfeit. her an
swer was: 81 knew it was" 1t took day
or two for the engravers and cashiers to
make detailed explanation so that bank
officials could understand the reason. How
ever, it was discovered that these same cash
iers and bank officials had received good
many of the bills, while the woman has de-
tected the counterfeit. General Spencer.
when Treasurer of the United States, once
said: "a man will examine note syste-
matically and adduce logically from the i'm
perfect engraving. blurred vignette or indis-
tinct signature. that it is counterfeit, and
he will be wrong four cases out of ten. A
woman picks up note in an apparently
careless manner, after her own fashion, and
says that is counterfeit Why? the Divi-
sion Chief will ask, and she will be very
sure TO answer, Because it Isl And she is
right eleven cases out of twelve. 1t would
be wrong to say that these discoveries are
the result of chance. They come from a
keen perception, fine eyesight, delicate touch
and long acquaintance with the work. There
is in one of the bureaus to-day woman
whose division chief says that her daily
average OF work in the counting of STAMPS Is
nearly three times that of man who has
been assigned to the same duty and who sits
in the same room, yet the man gets twice
the pay
The most skillful persons to identify the
notes and bonds which were defaced ard
charred in the great Chicago fire were wom
en-. There was one mass of charred paper
from the chicago fire amounting to $165, 900,
consisting. of legal tenders, national bank
and fractional notes, bonds and coupons
They were so charred that they would crum
Bile at the touch. This black mass was given
70 SIX LADIES Tor Identification. and in course
Of time they accomplished the task. Other
large amounts from that city were in like
manner successfully identified. A year Ia
ter eighty-three cases similarly charred.
came from the great Boston fire. One case
was found by these same six ladies to con-
tai $4,000. How they did it is described
in this manner by one of Them after un-
packing the money from the raw cotton in
which 1t travelled, as jealousy swathed as
the most precious jewelry, the ladies sepa-
rated each, small piece with their knives,
made for the purpose; then laying the black
ened fragments on sheets of plotting paper.
decided by close scrutiny the value, genuine
ness and nature of the note. Magnifying
glasses were provided. but seldom used. ex-
cept for the deciphering of coupon numbers
or otner minute details The pieces were
then pasted on thin paper, the bank notes
returned to their respective banks. and the
United States money put in sealed enyel-
opes and delivered to committee of four.
who superintendent the final burning. The
amount OF all the money from the two cities
identified was 81, 226,341, or over rs per cent.
OF the whole,
Six months were required to identify the
money saved from these two fires. Some of
these women are employed on what is known
as 'af1davit caSeS"-caSes where money Is
too badly injured to be redeemed in the
usual manner. One of these expert women
saved the government $1S5,000 once. This
money was lost I'M paymaster's trunk which
was sunk at the bottom of the Mississippi
river, lay there for many months and was
almost mass of pulp when it arrived at the
Treasury. The express company which was
responsible for this money gave the clerk
$500. 0-eiA
A good many distinguished women have at
different times been compelled to seek en-
ployment in the government service. Mrs.
stephen A. Douglass, the widow of the Little
Giant, reduced to poverty by her husbands
unfortunate Sspeculations, for time held a
clerkSnlp In the Treasury. During the life
time of her husband she was brilliant
leader in society, and while in the Treasury.
married an army officer of high standing. A
niece of General George Sedgwick once held
place there.
Mrs. Commodore Wainwright descend
ant of Franklin, and two granddaughters of
Jefferson have been clerks in the government
service.
Mrs. Brewster was clerk in the Bureau
of Internal Revenue in the Treasury Depart
ment, and Mr. Brewster, later ATTORNEY Cen
eral of the United States, occasionally came
to see her when she was SO employed. She
was the orphan daughter of Robert j.
Walker, once Secretary of the Treasury. A
female cousin of General Rawlings, former
Secretary of War; and cousin of William III.
Seward, have held government clerkships.
The daughters of Chief Justice fancy were
employed in the Treasury. Governor Fair
child, of Wisconsin, married his wife from
the Treasury. A sister of General Robert
Ould was long time in the Treasury. The
poet, Florence Percy" held a place in the
Quartermaster Generals office until she was
married. Some of the more prominent women
writers OF Washington were once Treasury
clerks. The daughter of Governor Pettigrew
King. the noted Governor of South Carolina.
was long clerk in the Post Office Depart,
ment. The list could be made very long